. Birds of the Colorado valley ... scientific and popular information concerning North American ornithology;. Birds. THE SEAL OF THE SHEIKE OEDER 547 oue in all essential particulars—reserving for after considera- tion the few points that mark their respective histories. Looking at the bold, defiant aspect of the Shrike^ however inadequately portrayed in the accompaying sketch, we cannot fail to recognize a bird of extraordinary spirit,— the stout, hooked beak, combining claw and tooth in one murderous instrument, is surely the weaiion of a Hawk, or other rapacious bird! In one sense, we certa
. Birds of the Colorado valley ... scientific and popular information concerning North American ornithology;. Birds. THE SEAL OF THE SHEIKE OEDER 547 oue in all essential particulars—reserving for after considera- tion the few points that mark their respective histories. Looking at the bold, defiant aspect of the Shrike^ however inadequately portrayed in the accompaying sketch, we cannot fail to recognize a bird of extraordinary spirit,— the stout, hooked beak, combining claw and tooth in one murderous instrument, is surely the weaiion of a Hawk, or other rapacious bird! In one sense, we certainly have here a bird of prey; yet, if the portrait were at full length, we should find the feet as weak and harmless as those of a Thrush or Sparrow, instead of being furnished with the talons which confer such raptorial prowess no. of a shrike. upon the Falcon, the Eagle, and the Owl. If, furthermore, we should examine the anatomy of the Shrikes, it would be merely to discover that the entire structure of the internal organs is modelled after a strictly Passerine type. Though the bone and muscle indicate unusual strength and vigor, the beak itself is the seal of the Shrike order—a mark as plain and unmistakable as that which stamps the tribes of Israel, wherever dispersed over the earth—the symbol of a spirit as bold and reckless as ever dwelt in the breast of any one of the Hawks called "noble" in the olden time, when falconry beguiled the leisure hours of kings and royal mistresses. Matching the bravest of the brave among birds of prey in deeds of daring, and no less relentless than reckless, the Shrike compels that sort of deference, not unmixed with indig- nation, we are accustomed to accord to creatures of seeming insignificance, whose exploits demand much strength, great spirit, and insatiate love of carnage. We cannot be indifferent to the marauder who takes his own wherever he finds it—a feudal baron who holds his own with undis
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookpublisherw, booksubjectbirds
